Biogen Idec hopes treatment will be first advance in hemophilia B treatment in 15 years

By Alaric DeArment

WESTON, Mass. — Biogen Idec is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for a hemophilia drug that it called the first of its kind.

The drug maker announced that it had submitted a regulatory application for recombinant factor IX Fc fusion protein, or rFIXFc, which it called the first long-lasting factor IX therapy for hemophilia B.

"The submission to FDA of rFIXFc is an important milestone towards the introduction of a long-lasting factor IX therapy, which is the first major treatment advance for the hemophilia B community in 15 years," Biogen Idec SVP global medical affairs and chief medical officer for the company's hemophilia therapeutic area Glenn Pierce said. "Our Fc fusion technology uses a natural pathway in the body to keep factor in circulation longer."